Be Bold
by ur-only-hope
Summary: For Starkittie: Some times a close friendship can and should get closer. Fluff Cody Rhodes one-shot.


Be Bold.

Background: Christy moved down to Georgia for school with two of her best girl friends. They moved into a cozzy condo a few blocks away from the University and Christy got a job at the book store across the street from school. The day Christy moved in, Cody was home from his European tour with the WWE. He offered to help the girls move their things and showed the around the neighborhood. Christy and Cody connected quick and became fast friends.

Last Christmas, Christy bought Cody a pet pug because she felt that he was kind of lonely being the only one occupying his condo. The two came up with the name Blue because of it's bright, blue eyes.

It was mid-winter break and Christy flew home to see her parents and Cody had gotten back from being on the road...

\\

The sun slowly set on the Georgia sky turning it from a pearl blue to a light, misty pink and orange glow. It wouldn't be dark for another hour or two, but Cody thought is was time to go back to his condo. He only had a few days left to be home and he wanted to spend half of it catching up on sleep.

"Blue!" Cody called into the house as he set his keys on the side counter. "Blue?" There was no sign of the little pug as Cody hung his jacket on the coat rack. Usually Blue would come running every time Cody would come home.

Cody was about to search the condo when he stumbled over a pair of black Ed Hardy's. He caught himself against the wall before looking down. "Christy," he smiled. "Christy? You here? Blue?" Not getting a response from either one of them, Cody headed upstairs in search for Christy and Blue.

It didn't take him long. Cody found Christy snuggled up in his bed with Blue cuddled up next to her. Cody leaned against the door frame, gazing on into his room as the pup stared back at him, wagging its tail back and forth.

"Blue," Cody warned softly. "You know better." The pug lowered its head on the covers before hopping the giant bed and was immediately at Cody's feet. He smiled down at Blue before picking the puppy up in his arms. "Good, dog," Cody praised, placing a kiss on Blue's head. The moment Cody put the pug on the ground, it went running off to another part of the condo.

With the slight shift of the bed from Blue running across and jumping off, Christy groaned from the movements and the cold air replaced the warmth Blue was providing her side. Cody made his way across the room towards the bed and sat down beside her. Christy woke from the sudden weight change, but grinned realizing it was Cody.

"You're back," she murmured.

"So are you," Cody simpered. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

"I wanted to surprise you." Christy slowly sat up from Cody's comfy covers, stretching a bit as she did and Cody adjusted his position on the bed so that they were sitting face to face. "But when I got here, you were gone. Blue looked lonely so I thought we'd play together while I wait for you.. but I guess I fell asleep," Christy answered sheepishly.

"I think you've slept in my bed more than I have," Cody laughed. "I just went out to catch up with a few buddies. You should have told me you were coming back. I would have picked you up from the airport."

"Kinda defeats the purpose of the surprise, Codes."

He smiled warmly, reaching over to tuck a strain of hair behind Christy's ear as he replied, "Yeah, always a surprise when I find you asleep in my bed."

"It was calling my name," she explained, spreading her arms out on to the king size bed, a grinned spread across her face. Christy closed her eyes, fell backwards on the bed and sighed happily.

"You hungry? Have you eaten yet?"

Before Christy could answer, her stomach rumbled loud enough for both of them to hear. Christy kept her eyes shut while her cheeks turned a bright pink. Biting her bottom lip before responding, "Um, no?"

"Liar."

With one shift movement, Cody swooped over Christy and grabbed on to her waist, throwing her over his shoulder. A small squeal escaped from Christy's lips, but this didn't phase her much. Cody was always lifting or picking her up in any which manner. At first it was kind of to show off to Christy's friends how close they were and that he was a strong man, but now it was just habit. Fastest way to get Christy to go anywhere with Cody was for him to carry her.

"Did you lose weight while you went home? You feel lighter."

"I'm the same size as I was last," she retorted while her nose bounced off Cody's back as he walked out of the master bedroom.

"You sure? None the less, we're going to the BBQ joint downtown. All you can eat tonight!"

"Did you lose weight when you were gone? We never go to all you can eat places."

"I haven't eaten much today and you gotta love Southern BBQ!"

\\

Laughter, tears, swollen cheeks, stomach pains, lack of oxygen and side hugs. All good of course. It was always like that when Cody and Christy got together. Cody telling ridiculous stories while he was on the road with the WWE. Christy sharing classic moments from school and from her job at the book store. There was never a dull moment between the two and why would there be? They always had something to talk about. And when they weren't talking, they enjoyed each others company.

After dinner, Christy and Cody decided to take the long way back to their neighborhood which meant them walking through the downtown shops. Christy clung on to Cody's back as he served down the sidewalks, not caring if anyone stared or commented. Usually it was faster to go to places if Cody was holing on to Christy in some way. Not this time.

Christy made them stop when she stopped a pair of cute Keroppi socks in the window of an Asian Boutique. She hopped off Cody's back and admired all the adorable things that were displayed. Debating if she should buy a pair, Christy turned to ask Cody for his opinion, but he was already in the shop knowing exactly what his best friend wanted. Little late night gift never hurts, right?

Instead of dropping Christy off at her place, Cody took them back to his condo and popped in The Wizard of Oz.

They both got comfortable on the couch, Cody's arm swung behind Christy's shoulders and Blue mindlessly napping on Christy's lap. Cody was checking his phone every now and then, but Christy didn't mind as she gazed on, happy to watch her favorite movie. Once it ended, Cody turned off the TV which caused Blue to pop it's head up from the sudden silence.

Christy checked her cell phone and sighed. "It's getting late. I should head home. Got an early shift tomorrow before my afternoon classes." Christy carefully picked up the pug and kissed Blue's head. "Thank you for keeping me company while I waited for Cody." She placed Blue back down on the couch and turned to Cody. "Thank you for the socks, Codes." Christy leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Cody's cheek. With a smile, she place a hand on his leg, about to boost herself off the couch, but Cody grabbed on to her wrist, pulling her back down, causing her to squeak from the gesture. "Hey!" she giggled.

"Only one kiss? I took you to dinner, bought you a new pair of socks, which looks adorable on you, by the way, and watched your favorite movie with you. I think I deserve three kisses."

"I've forgotten how sly you could be," Christy commented, rolling her eyes slightly, but she obliged.

She got up, bent forward, taking Cody's face in her hands. Christy moved his head to the left so that she could kiss his other cheek. She then made him look forward and was about to kiss the top of his nose, but instead, Cody tilted his head up a bit to catch her unexpecting lips with his. Christy's eyes opened wide, but Cody held her hands in place, keeping Christy still. Which didn't matter much because she was already frozen from his actions. He parted his lips, just for a second before parting them completely. Christy blinked, still stunned from what just happened and her hands still trapped by Cody's hands. He smiled up at her, letting out a small chuckle.

"Good night, Christy."

"I-Co-good night!"

\\

7AM. Not that many customers in the book store at this hour except for a few students and business people on their way to work stopping in for a cup of coffee or the morning paper.

Christy leaned against the front desk, tapping her pen on her notebook. Her mind has been racing ever since she rushed out of Cody's condo last night. What was she suppose to do or think? One of her best guy friends just kissed her out of the blue! Blue.. Christy smiled a bit thinking about the small pug, remembering the day she brought the puppy back for Cody. Cody.. her cheeks flushed at the thought of him. That's never happened before. She could feel her body temperature raising. She started to fidget a little more as she tapped her foot against the wooden floor.

Stop.

Letting out a frustrating sigh, Christy calmly placed her pen back down the counter and collected her thoughts.

Breathe.

Christy pulled her text book out from her bag and quickly tried to distract herself. Until the bell on the door dinged. It was Cody.

Crap.

Christy blushed a bit, not able to make eye contact with her best friend. Cody rarely comes to the book shop. Mainly because he's usually never in town when Christy has to work. But he made his presence today. Christy straighten herself up as Cody approached the front counter, a grin playing off his lips.

"Can I help you find something?" she asked softly.

"Oh, I think I already found it," Cody replied, leaning against the counter. Christy shook her head and tried to go back to studying. "Do you have class after your shift?"

"Yeah. Two. I'll be done by 3:15."

"Great. I'm taking you out to a late lunch date after you finish your classes."

Christy slowly glanced up and eyed him. "A.. lunch.. date?" she questioned slowly.

"Yes."

Christy took a breath, gathering up her nerves and decided to be bold. "Stealing a kiss last night and getting a date today? Since when did you become so confident?"

"Since I found you asleep in my bed and realized I always wanna come home to you."

Christy was taken back by his response. There goes her confidence.

"I-" she stuttered.

"I've been thinking about you a lot, Christy. A lot more when I'm the road. Usually when I come home, you're always here waiting for me. This time I came back, you were still at your parents and I realized every time I was coming home, I was coming home to you and that just made every thing better. I was excited to see you."

"You-"

"I know it's cliche, but I fell in love with my best friend."

Cody reached across the counter and took Christy's hands in his. he watched her as she stared at their intertwined fingers. His heart was pounding. Every second that she didn't reply made him regret confessing to her. As she slowly looked up at him again, he could have sworn his heart stopped. The whole world stopped. He lost his breath the moment her lips touched his. And the one thing he regret was having the counter in between them.


End file.
